June 16, 2008
I loved watching the Tony Awards on TV last night. Award shows can be bloated and self-indulgent, but this one wasn't, which got me thinking about the upcoming Daytime Emmys. I hope they won't pad the ceremony with a lot of silly banter and cheesy extras. Is anyone ever entertained by that? I'd much rather have that airtime go to showing meaty clips of all the soap actors competing in a category, something which has gotten the short shrift in recent years. Seeing Patti LuPone belt out a goosebump-inducing rendition of "Everything's Coming Up Roses" made me want to immediately go online and buy tickets for Gypsy, which is exactly what the Tony producers had in mind, of course. And if the Daytime Emmy producers do their jobs right, you should be so pumped that you consider watching a soap you haven't seen before or at the very least resolve to start watching a former fave again. Friday night gives daytime shows an opportunity to really show their stuff, I hope that's what they do.

June 9, 2008
How old is B&B's Katie supposed to be? She's dying and her big wish is to relive the prom in a gaudy outfit? And Nick as her date? It's all just so wrong on so many levels. I found the whole thing cringeworthy. If I'm supposed to be remotely interested in these two together, they are going to have to show me a lot more than basketball jerseys and disco balls. But then, I'm not convinced that there's anything they could do to make me buy this. And I don't really bother to get invested in B&B couples anymore since they break up so fast that I can't keep track of who I'm supposed to be rooting for. I so wish a new family would move to town so that Nick could find someone outside of the Logan family to romance.

June 3, 2008
I am so vexed about the impending departure of Forbes March as OLTL's Nash. We've seen him grow leaps and bounds as an actor since his early days as AMC's Scott way back in 1999. Back then, he was green on-screen, but an all-around nice guy, as funny and smart as could be. In 2005 when he returned as Nash, he literally had me at hello (or whatever his first line was). The New York location shoot when Tess stole his car and they ended up playing a cat-and-mouse game at that splashy Hamptons party instantly got my attention and made me a lot more interested in Jessica's wild-child alter. The very fact that Forbes had to spend those days in a MIAMI VICE-style outfit, but still kept his dignity, is a testament. Why the show would choose to lose this handsome, engaging actor who makes a perfect romantic lead is beyond me.

May 27, 2008
OLTL never fails to delight me with a David Vickers scene. Today, they really outdid themselves. First, there he was in those ridiculous overalls, begging Dorian to let him hide out at La Boulaie, then the show took it somewhere totally unexpected by having him spend time with the newly cosmopolitan Addie, who wants to embrace new experiences — like a ménage à trois. I swear, that line nearly made me spit out my coffee. I'm one of those people who tends to be more interested in the supporting players, second bananas, wacky neighbors and so on. I always cared way more about Jack and Karen than WILL & GRACE. OLTL does an exceptionally good job with the quirky characters, from David, Addie and Roxie to Nigel and Shaun. I can think of some longtime, but seldom-seen actors on other soaps, who would be lucky to get a recurring gig on this one. At least then they'd have a shot at doing something interesting.

May 20, 2008
Today was a really special day for AMC fans: Greg Nelson reunited with Angie and Jesse, which to me is a dream come true. Just seeing that troika made it a wonderful day in soapdom, but AMC put a cherry on top by digging out flashbacks with Greg and the late Jenny. If you weren't watching back then, I can't even begin to explain how important these two couples were to Pine Valley, just trust me when I say they are the reason a lot of folks tuned in and stayed hooked on soaps. Thanks, AMC for such a meaningful stroll down memory lane.

May 12, 2008
I'm just one voice in a noisy chorus at this point, but seeing Snoop Dogg on OLTL was quite a treat. I have a lifelong beef about singing on soaps because it's frequently just awkward and brings the action to a screeching halt. And generally speaking, guest stars, who come in to sing get on my nerves, too, but not Snoop. OLTL was quite clever in their handling of the guest spot, from the music video-style camerawork to the awesomely outrageous notion that Snoop and Bo Buchanan go way back because Snoop got his start on Llanview's former soap-within-a-soap FRATERNITY ROW. (And that show needs to be renewed because FRATERNITY ROW was a lot of fun. Any of you old-timers remember the Daisy Awards?) Of course, OLTL has mastered all those creative musical episodes, so it makes sense that they'd do it right. It made more sense to me than when Pat Benatar rolled into Genoa City for scenes where she taught Karen how to overcome performance jitters a couple of months back. While I'm handing out the praise, I've also gotta give it up to Warren Buffett for making me laugh on AMC during the scenes where he visited Erica in jail and tried to turn her on to bridge. Now, that's something you don't see everyday.

May 5, 2008
I just love it when a soap surprises me with a potential pairing I never thought of. While watching DAYS today, I was stuck by the chemistry between those cuties Philip and Morgan. When I saw the belle sparring with Kiriakis at the Brady Pub it just hit me that they could really work out. I really like her character and hoped the show would do more with her, but couldn't figure out how they'd make Morgan more prominent. It's so rare that a newbie who plays a minor character has that certain something, but I think Kristen Renton has it. And Jay Kenneth Johnson's hunky bad boy definitely should not be kept on the shelf. I wondered what would happen when the triangle with Belle and Shawn was so suddenly dropped, but DAYS has done a fine job of moving him along into other storylines. Salem is soooooo exciting right now, don't you think?

April 28, 2008
So, thanks to Oprah, I just recently found out about this thing the kids are doing: Freeganism. In a nutshell, they've got a message against excessive consumption. They've opted to drop out of the economic system, so among other things, they hunt for food in the garbage and shun employment. This got me thinking, with all of the out-of-this-world stories soaps tell, this would be a perfect tale for daytime; it's rooted in reality, but still hard to believe. Can you just picture GL's Alan Spalding, contending with a bunch of Rafe's squatter pals? How about if B&B's Phoebe decided to reject her posh lifestyle? What would Taylor have to say about it if she found her daughter rifling through Insomnia's refuse in search of a scone? Oprah, the source of all enlightenment, also had the pregnant man on her show recently and PASSIONS is telling a story in which Vincent is having a baby, so why not mine more bizarre headlines. It certainly can’t hurt ratings.

April 22, 2008
I feel like I've spent a lot of time writing about what I don't like on GL, so here is a shout-out to something I do like: financial problems. Not real ones, of course, but Harley's. I love it when middle-class characters are strapped for cash. What with the country's economic downturn, it's a spot-on time to see characters shopping in bulk (remember the huge box of ramen noodles?) and scrounging for work like Harley. Though I'd like to see pretty Natalia in a colorful, dress once in a while, seeing her in her hotel maid's uniform adds a dose of realism. I want to see her move up in the world, but frequently on soaps you see these characters go from waitress to corporate executive so lickety-split that it's jarring. So kudos to GL for mirroring real life. There, I said something nice.

April 16, 2008
I guess Talia and Antonio never heard the expression: "the walls have ears." It's baffling to me that the OLTL cops loudly discussed their personal business in the squad room. I know soaps don't have the luxury of leaping from set to set, but come on, how about at least arguing in loud whispers. And I've got the same complaint for all those soap hospital scenes where docs and nurses casually discuss patient conditions in the hallways. Pipe down, people.

April 10, 2008
I have mixed feelings about Ashlee's weight-loss surgery on GL because those types of stories always make me wonder how the actress feels about having to play a role centered on her weight. Personally, I wouldn’t like it. But I'm not an actress. Anyway, I do think it's a realistic tale and is being handled well because the scripts make it clear that this is a very awkward situation to address. And I was very surprised when Lizzie overheard Coop assuring Ashlee that she's just fine the way she is and interrupted to point out that society does indeed make judgments based on looks. Well, Lizzie's correct about that one, and if any character could say that, it's Lizzie who has been established as the fashionable girl who takes great pains to look stellar. On the other hand, maybe Coop really doesn't have any issues with Ashlee's weight, but it’s reasonable to believe that she feels like he's just saying that. After all, what man in his right mind would ever say otherwise to a woman he loves?

April 2, 2008
I love Taylor with Rick on B&B. First off, poor Taylor totally deserves a frothy, romantic story. That woman has been put through the mill for months on end and it's getting too depressing. With all the misdeeds that go unpunished on that show, it's awful that Taylor is the one who has to do all the suffering. Seeing as how there is only a handful of potential partners in all of Bizarro Los Angeles, it's good that she found the one man on the show that even Brooke wouldn't dare bed down with. (Well, we guess Brooke's brother Storm would be off-limits, too, so that could be Taylor's Plan B.) Of course, I also liked Ashley and Rick and countless other fly-by-night B&B pairings, so I really hope that the show will stick with this for a while. It's also funny to see Brooke in the role of meddling mama Stephanie. All she needs now is a couple of pantsuits and to learn how to start belting her foes. Maybe B&B should start a Karate Kid-style tale with Stephanie playing Brooke's Mr. Miyagi. Wax on, wax off, indeed.

March 25, 2008
AMC jailbirds Erica and Carmen are cracking me up. I'm not sure which one of them is scarier: thuggish Carmen or diva Erica. Threatening to shoot La Kane is one thing, but trying to snap the heels off her Jimmy Choo shoes? That is just too brutal!

March 20, 2008
It takes a lot of talent to take a nearly infamous soap cliché and make it fun, fresh and engaging. The Tony and Anna scenes on DAYS are delicious. The I-love-you/I-hate-you sexually charged fight-then-kiss bit has been done to death, but Thaao Penghlis and Leann Hunley get the joke and somehow manage to shamelessly revel in it and imbue the scenes with great enthusiasm and sly humor. They present the scenes with a wink-wink, and some playful over-the-top moments, but without patronizing the audience or making something that’s usually embarrassingly cheesy the best kind of sudsy froth.

March 14, 2008
B&B's Nick walked in on an argument between his exes, Brooke and her daughter Bridget, as they squabbled over which one he belongs with. After Bridget suggestively cooed that he should meet her upstairs, Nick followed, but not before telling Brooke he always thought it would be her up there. So essentially a man is looking at a mother and a daughter and there's a discussion about which one to immediately have sex with? Um, ewwww! Maybe I just don't understand how they roll in L.A.